Snowmobile crash investigation raising questions

JOHNSON COUNTY — The Johnson County Sheriff's Office said they have more questions than answers right now as they investigate a snowmobile crash that left two people hospitalized.

Investigators don't yet know where the crash occurred or who owned the snowmobile that was allegedly crashed.

'We have not found the snowmobile or the crash site and they couldn't tell us where it was at,' said Capt. Gary Kramer.

Kramer said deputies responded to 230 Summit St. in Oxford shortly after 6 a.m. Friday after 27-year-old Jonathan Walte called 911 and reported he and a 27-year-old woman had been in a snowmobile crash. The alleged crash had occurred the evening before; however, neither Walte nor the woman could say where it occurred or who owned the snowmobile.

Kramer said investigators don't know at this point whether Walte and the woman were being evasive with deputies or simply didn't know the answers to the questions they were asking.

'We have no idea if they really don't know where they were at, which very possibly could be the situation, or if they're choosing not to tell us,' Kramer said. 'I don't know ... There's a lot of things we don't know about this yet.'

Kramer said he didn't know the nature of the couple's injuries, except that they warranted an ambulance trip to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics emergency room. However, Walte has since been released from the hospital and was taken into custody for a warrant out of Linn County for a failure to appear on a possession of a controlled substance charge.

Kramer said deputies are still searching for the snowmobile, If the vehicle is recovered, a vehicle identification or registration number could lead investigators to the snowmobile's owner.

'The investigation is continuing and we're trying to find out more information,' he said.